Celebrate Summer with a Proper British Gin from Boodles

Here in Canada we know all too well that summer is too short a season to spend sipping boring spirits. Enter Boodles Gin. Much like British humour, this wheat-distilled gin is as dry as it gets owing to a blend of traditional botanicals (juniper among them, of course) and spices including nutmeg, sage and rosemary. The result? An herbacious and mellow tipple with near limitless versatility, making it a proper mixer for most any cocktail you can daydream up — though a simple Boodles and tonic on ice hits the spot if you like your summer quenchers refreshingly bitter, as I do.

Now go find a backyard, patio, beach, balcony — or just a quiet spot in the shade — and pour yourself one of these foolproof recipes courtesy of Boodles. You’ve earned it.

Salted Negroni

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Boodles Gin

.75 oz sweet vermouth

.75 oz Campari (or another bitter liqueur)

1 oz grapefruit juice

2 oz soda water

Sea salt

Combine gin, vermouth, Campari, grapefruit juice and a pinch of sea salt in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a Collins glass over ice and soda water. Garnish with a pinch of sea salt and grapefruit peel.

Gin and Gomme

Ingredients:

2 oz Boodles Gin

.75 oz pineapple juice

.5 oz mango puree (or chopped mango)

.75 oz fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and combine thoroughly. Strain into a large rocks glass filled with ice. Top with a splash of soda and garnish with a sprig of fresh cilantro (though mint will do).

Italian Shrub, English Heart

1.75 oz Boodles Gin

.5 oz Cynar (or another bitter liqueur)

.75 oz simple syrup

.75 oz lime juice

3-4 basil leaves

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Combine, then add soda water and fine strain into a salt-rimmed Collins glass. Garnish with a basil leaf.